Devices and methods of repairing cardiac valves
First Claim
1. An assembly for securing leaflets of a cardiac valve together at a point of apposition between the valve leaflets, said assembly comprising:
- a fastener;
a means for temporarily securing said fastener to said leaflets; and
a means for permanently securing said fastener to said leaflets.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Devices and methods are provided for securing leaflets of a cardiac valve together. The subject devices include an assembly having a fastener, means for temporarily securing the fastener to the leaflets and means for permanently securing the fastener to the leaflets and means for anchoring the fastener to the heart wall. The subject methods are characterized by temporarily grasping the leaflets of a valve together at an apposition point, assessing at least one of blood flow and pressure gradient across said valve, determining whether to permanently secure the valve leaflets at said selected apposition point based upon at least one of the measured blood flow and pressure gradient, and performing one of permanently attaching the leaflets together at the apposition site or releasing the grasped leaflets. Also included are assemblies which include a subject device and a delivery device and may include a pressure monitoring member and/or a flow monitoring member. Kits which include the subject devices are also provided.
318 Citations
29 Claims
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1. An assembly for securing leaflets of a cardiac valve together at a point of apposition between the valve leaflets, said assembly comprising:
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a fastener;
a means for temporarily securing said fastener to said leaflets; and
a means for permanently securing said fastener to said leaflets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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9. A method for securing together leaflets of a cardiac valve of a heart having an apex, said method comprising:
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(a) temporarily grasping the leaflets of a valve together at a selected apposition point;
(b) measuring at least one of blood flow and pressure gradient across said valve;
(c) determining whether to permanently secure said valve leaflets at said selected apposition point based upon at least one of said measured blood flow and pressure gradient; and
(d) performing one of permanently securing said leaflets together at said selected apposition site or releasing said grasped leaflets. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification